Fish All The Way To The Boat?

[2limit]

When do you fish a soft plastic all the way back to the boat? Mostly I fish about half of the cast and then just reel in quickly so I can make another cast. Seems that strikes most often occur on the fall or shortly thereafter. Your thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

[Rangerphil]

I will when I first start out until I figure out where they are. A lot of the time they maybe out a little deeper and then you can reposition the boat so you are not sitting on top of them.

[J_Pearson]

I will when I first start out until I figure out where they are. A lot of the time they maybe out a little deeper and then you can reposition the boat so you are not sitting on top of them.

x2. Pretty much drilled it there.

[Catt]

Unless I'm flipping/pitching/punching 100% of the time

[J Francho]

My personal best NY state fish came fishing all the way back to the boat. I was fishing a weed edge with a 10" t-rig worm at about 8 FOW, that suddenly drops off to 30-ish FOW. A few times, I opened the spool, and let payed out enough line to fish down the bluff. The second or third time - and I didn't do this in consecutive casts, just randomly threw in a change up - I felt something mushy. Set the hook, and reeled in what felt like an old boot, but it happened to be a 7lb. + largemouth. This got me fishing in "reverse," or "uphill" more often.

[SirSnookalot]

Complete the cast. I've caught many larger fish very close to the boat, shore or a jettie. You just never know, no reason to reduce the time the lure is in the water.

[K_Mac]

I think boat position makes the decision. Like Catt and J Franco, working uphill is often the better option and may require working all the way back. If you're in very deep water pitching to cover or working structure then maybe not so much. I have also been surprised by fish taking the bait in much deeper water than I expected. So in summary, it depends ...there are few absolutes when it comes to fishing. Good luck.

[Nice_Bass]

Always fish it back to the boat mostly because i am fishing at or near deep water year round, or fishing uphill. There is also no better feeling than setting the hook on a large fish right underneath you.

[ROCbass]

It never occurred to me not to fish all the way to the boat, and I've had too many strikes right at the boat to see that changing anytime soon.

[NBR]

When fishing smallies all the way to the boat. We go a step farther if one has a fish on the other throws right behind the hooked fish. He caught the biggest smallie of a two week trip to Canada.

[Dwight Hottle]

Yesterday I had a bass try to eat my frog as I lifted it from the water boatside. You never know.

[Bluebasser86]

If you only fish halfway to the boat then chances are most of your fish will be on the initial drop or first couple lifts like you said. Chances are you casted at a target on the bank so if there isn't a fish there and you only move it a couple times it probably never gets to anything else that is holding fish. I've found a lot of cover and structure by carefully fishing my bait back to the boat and feeling for what it's doing. Like others have said, I've caught lots of big fish under the boat doing this.

[WRB]

Lots of factors to consider; day or night, cover or structure, clear or off color water, seasonal period.

Spawn you are targeting specific bass, no reason to retrieve back to the boat.

Night you are making shorter cast and should retrieve back to the boat.

Crank baits, you retrieve back to the boat.

Top water, depends on the cover, structure you retrieve back to the boat.

Spoons and drop shot, structure you keep at the depth the bass are holding, back to or under the boat.

Jigs & worms/creatures in cover you are targeting specific spots, no reason to retrieve back to the boat.

Jigs & worms/creatures; structure you are casting and covering all depths all the way back to the boat.

Swimbaits you retrieve back to the boat.

Clear flat water the bass maybe boat wary, same water with a little wind and waves, not so wary, so on and so forth.

Tom

[Diablos]

I catch most of my fish when I put my rod down to do something else in the boat and the lure is still in the water.

Last year I caught 2 fish on a buzz bait that sunk to the bottom. I was getting a little too close to some over hangin branches and put my rod down. When I started reeling again I had a fish. Happens all the time with jigs too.

[Catt]

I'm well known for catching "junk" fish by vertically jigging my Texas rig or jig-n-craw directly under the boat

[Ratherbfishing]

It depends. If I'm throwing to specific targets, I don't generally fish thoroughly all the way to the boat. But I also try to listen to what the bass are telling me. One time a buddy and I were fishing a lake which is largely like a giant flat. Were were casting into the flooded cattails and we noticed that a lot of our fish were being picked up near the boat. So we began to spend a great deal more time hopping our jigs vertically before we'd reel them in. As a result, we probably caught twice as many bass. We believe the bass were following our baits all tlhe way to the boat and if we had reeled in sooner, we would have missed a bunch of fish.